THE management of Steel Rolling Mills Osogbo, Osun State, during the week, said the company has overcome major teething problems and would soon begin full-scale production.The company also said it is not affected by the recent probe and report by the Senate on the privatisation of public enterprises and a directive by the National Assembly asking that most of the companies sold by the Bureau of Public Enterprises should be returned to government.Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the company, retired Col. Raphael Odu, who spoke on behalf of the management, told The Guardian that some BPE officials on a fact-finding mission, had visited the company few weeks ago to monitorprogress on how to put the plant back to work.He said the company had succeeded in fixing machines in all the production lines, refurbished the offices and placed an order for the importation of billets, the major raw material needed for production.Odu, who was not prepared to entertain further questions on the activities of the company, also refused to give details about the capital investment into the firm since the BPE sold it out to the current owner, Dangote Group of Companies. He said further enquiries about the level of fund injected to reactivate the company should be directed to the firm's headquarters in Lagos.Investigation conducted by The Guardian, however, showed that it might still take the management of the company a long time before production begins, contrary to the expectation by the public.Stakeholders, including prospective job seekers, have expressed fears about the commitment of the firm's new management to turn it around.Some officials from the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), who visited the company on Wednesday, said they were around to discuss with the management the possibility of extending the rail line to the Steel mills to facilitate easy transportation of raw materials and finished products.A source, who craved anonymity, told The Guardian that failure by the management to replace obsolete equipment met on ground was partly responsible for the delay in production.Concerned citizens in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, recently staged a peaceful protest against alleged neglect of the firm by the owner since it became a private entity.Part of the issues raised by the protesters was that the inability of the owner to transform the firm early enough contributed to the low level of economic activities in Osun State.
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